Axel
Alex Inoue (アレックス イノ, Axel) is one of Densha's main protagonists in the Sword Art Online forum. She resides in the Sword Art Online universe and was there when the game began. Axel was one of the 10,000 players who had been trapped inside. She used to be a solo player for the majority for her first year in SAO, until she stumbled upon the Unicorn Crusaders, where she enlisted as an "enforcer" for the vigilante group. However, after departing from the group, she returns to the frontlines and becomes a driving force of the clearing party and a very influential player due to her successful leading of the Floor 60 Search Party. Appearance Alex is a girl of moderately tall stature, standing around 5 feet 6 inches. She has striking black eyes and very light skin, darker than most fully Eastern descents, however retaining traits that, that portray her as Asian nonetheless. Axel is very light, only about 119 pounds, and likes to keep it that way, maintaining a lean figure due to snacking on foods. Her long, dark brown hair is usually kept curly and--when straightened-- reaches down to her mid-back. She has bangs that cover her forehead and end just below neat eyebrows along her features. Alex usually wears leather to light armor, nothing too heavy or anything that would alter her natural way of moving. Personality Alex is truly defined by her wanting to progress as a person. Having been afflicted with the affinity towards failure, Axel has dealt with much opposition her entire life, from her parents who forced her older sister's accomplishments down her throat, to her school friends who made fun of her for being unable to read things properly. Alex is innately incompetent when it comes to new things. It takes her an extremely long time to get the hang of things, whether it be cooking, swimming, managing her time, or even remembering names, directions, reading, following instructions or reading the room. It was in first grade that she was professionally diagnosed with Dyslexia, which put an even bigger damper on her situation. Throughout her life, Alex had difficulty with her lack of ability to do various things and due to the society she'd lived in, had dealt with the ridicule that undoubtedly followed. On all sides, Alex was attacked. Her parents, her friends, her teachers, other members of her extended family. To children around her age at the time, her situation would've heavily molded her in a negative light. She would've grown up to believe what she was told. "Alex the Aimless", "You really can't read this? It's a simple sentence!", "Alex, please, just try and do well, so you don't bring down your sister's reputation in school.", "Hey, Alex, stop embarrassing your sister. Just leave school." These sentences were spoken over and over again and Alex had memorized the disappointed and jeering tones as if they and daily life were one and the same. However, unlike most people, Alex didn't let the opinions and outside influences affect her. Despite her ineptitude, Alex's spirit never waned. Unlike her sister, Alex wasn't a genius. She was the exact opposite. However, she rationalized: "If I'm at the bottom, all I can do is go up, right?" Once she reached high school, Alex decided to get herself a tutor. Her elder sister was incredibly busy with entrance exams and she didn't want to bother her, so she decided to ask her friend for help. Background In real life, Alex has one elder sister named Akira. The two are both American and Japanese, Their African-American mother and Japanese father are almost always on business trips together, so it leaves the two to have more free time to themselves. Though the girls are close, Akira's stark difference to her sister has usually caused many fights between the two. Akira is more blunt and unemotional, which bothers Alex a lot due to the fact that the girl never listens and only worries about what is required of them to do as siblings, students, and children of their parents. Though, Akira does love her younger sister, usually tucking her in at night and staying up all night to help her with her homework. The elder sister wants what is best for her younger sister, but her personality has always seemed to hide that fact, only showing her blank and cold exterior. This drove her to buy her sister, Alex, the NerveGear, and eventually Sword Art Online, knowing her sister had a knack for gaming and played a lot with her friends. Alex thanked her sister wholeheartedly, and the girl was proud of herself for finally conveying her feelings. Oh, how sad a day it was when she found out of her sister's fate on the day of the game's launch. Equipment and Items Starter Equipment and Items *Aluminum Staff *Silk Tunic *Health Potions x 3 *Teleport Crystals x 3 Later Armor Later Weapons *Iron Tail Staff (Floor 10 staff) * Luminous Staff (Floor 10 staff upgraded) Abilities Sword Art Online (Floor 75) *'Level:' 93 *'HP:' 19300 Skills Buffs Two-handed Bo Staff * Javelin Toss – (1-hit strike) Throws his staff like a spear. Induces a knockback & three-second stun *Gravitational Force - (1-hit strike) Axel holds her staff like a baseball bat or in a javelin thrower's stance, and either throws or slams the staff into their opponent. Has a massive knockback as well as having a chance of inflicting Unbalance, Daze, and Dizziness. *Diagonal Blow – (1-hit strike) A diagonal attack to the enemy's shoulder. *End Strikes - (2-hit combo) A two-hit combo striking with the ends of the staff. *Open Strikes - (3-hit combo) Axel smacks her staff at the user's hands twice to open up their defenses before using the third strike to whack at them mercilessly. *Over-Under - (3-hit combo) Swings the end of the staff over, takes the middle to swing under then finally finishes off with a powerful downwards blow. Induces a knockback. *Side Blows - (4-hit combo) Holding the staff in the middle, the player swings one hand left and right rapidly, dealing good damage and inducing a stun if all blows land. *Whipping Points - (5-hit combo) Spinning her staff around her, Axel then strikes hard at the opponent's weak points. *Whirling Defense - Spins the staff at extreme speeds to deflect projectiles, the higher the skill level, the longer the barrier can hold. *Fury Flurry - (7-hit combo) A set of spinning strikes and hard bashes to the opponent's head, chest, abdomen, and groin area. Pommel Staff * Whack - (1-hit strike) A simple but hard swing of the staff that, depending on where the attack lands, can inflict debuffs ranging from Internal Hemorrhage and Concussion, to Stun and Broken Bones. It's a simple skill with a wide range of possibilities. Cooldown is 10 seconds. * Ground Pound - (1-hit AOE Strike) The user raises their staff above their head as it glows a bright blue. They then slam the butt of their staff into the ground, generating a 10-foot pulse in diameter that has enough power to knock anyone caught up in the attack to their feet. It can also cause a 3-second Stun, allowing for a quick getaway if needed. Cooldown is 50 seconds. * Bat Away - An automatic skill that has no post-motion delay. The user immediately parries or knocks away an attack with their staff. This skill is a good counter against fast-paced damage dealers and can cause a 2-second Stun which would allow the user to strike back and counterattack harder and stronger. Also, depending on the trajectory and timing, this skill can deflect a single projectile or more than one concentrate on a single area. Cooldown is 7 seconds. * Bam! Bam! - (2-hit combo) The user switches between hands as they crack at the opponent twice with two baseball-like swings. The first swing can cause a 2-second Stun. If so, it is a guarantee that the second swing will cause the Dizzy and Daze statuses to appear. Cooldown is 12 seconds Setup Swing - (2-hit combo) The user strikes upwards with their staff, towards either the hands or jaw of the opponent, before switching hands and swinging harshly. If the second strike connects, it will induce a 4-second stun, and can cause Daze. If it strikes the head of the opponent, they can receive Concussion and Internal Hemorrhage as well. Though this skill can easily be blocked and will need a perfect setup to finish the swing. Cooldown is 15 seconds. * Out of the Park! - (3-hit combo) The user holds their staff like a bat before swinging downwards and striking down on the opponent's head, they then switch hands and swing upwards to further disorient the opponent and drop any lingering defenses before they transition into a spin. They then cruelly swing at the player cracking at their jawline or cranium with immense power. This will send the opponent away a good meter or so, with that comes a guaranteed 10-second Stun, Concussion, Daze, Internal Hemorrhage, Fumble, and Tumble. * Juggernaut Assault - (7-hit combo) The user dashes forwards, gaining a 10% boost in overall attack power and speed. Their staff takes on a bright red glow and for the next seven hits, they can deliver heavy damage. This skill is most effective when moving forward and can only be activated while the user is running or moving around. If hit in the correct area, the user can inflict Internal Hemorrhage, Daze, and Dizzy. * Armor Buster - (1-hit strike) A max level Pommel Staff skill, as well as step up from Javelin Toss, Armor Buster lengthens the height of the staff by another foot as it’s launched. When it makes contact with armor of any kind, it can create a harsh and deep dent within or completely destroy the armor itself. If it hits skin, the skill has a high chance of obliterating the bones within the area of impact. The skill then goes into a ten minute cooldown. High chance of causing Internal Hemorrhage and indirect bleeding from the enemy’s own armor if they’re wearing any. This skill can also induce Daze, Dizzy, and Stun. * Wrath of the Gods - (10-hit combo) This is a max-level Pommel Staff skill. Axel’s staff grows another foot as it radiates a bright green. She then proceeds to swing the staff upwards at the opponent’s chin, before reversing the staff’s momentum, smashing back down onto their skull. She then spins around and strikes again from the right, before twirling her staff and then proceeding to unleash a barrage of three vertical strikes. Finally, Axel swings upward once more, then again, and one more time. The player now airborne, the player then reels back before launching their staff with immense force towards the opponent. The last strike will induce a cluster of debuffs to the enemy, including Daze, Dizzy, Tumble, Broken Bones, Stun, and Concussion. The skill will then go on a 20 minute cooldown. Shirogane * Akarui Senkou - (1-hit strike) Axel swivels her hips and strikes with one end of her staff, causing a knockback as well as a bright light to burst out of the attack, causing Stun and temporary blindness for 3 seconds. * Koso - (1-hit strike) Axel launches her glowing staff as it garners a spear like form. Upon impact it will either break armor or puncture through the skin of the opponent. On top of that it causes temporary blindness to the opponent for 3 seconds. Notable Achievements Gallery Axel/Image Gallery Quotes * (To Mardulim) "You got it, dude! I'll pound your logo into its skull!" Relationships Trivia * Axel's character design was, originally, heavily inspired by Korra from Avatar: The Legend of Korra. * Axel isn't actually that good with hand-to-hand combat, heavily relying on her staff and the system to deal damage. ** However once joining up with the UC, she shows incredible improvement with CQC * The name "Axel" is basically "Alex". All she did was switch the positions of the "l" and "x" in her name. * Axel loves seafood. * Axel is dyslexic. * Axel has paralyzing entomophobia. Category:Character Category:Female Category:Player Category:SAO Player Category:XDenshaX/Dennys